GILC specialists led by BLM as part of new Zurich APAC panel for large and complex claims

Date: Thursday, May 20th, 2021 by Michaela Hickson.

• New panel will ensure greater transparency and consistency of legal services for claims in in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore
• Panel to provide more access to legal and claims insights and trends
• Panel to supply higher level of support for claims covering more than one legal authority

Insurance risk and commercial law firm, BLM has been appointed to lead a team of specialists from Global Insurance Law Connect as part of a new Zurich legal panel for the strategic management of large and complex claims across the Asia and Pacific (APAC) region. This new legal panel arrangement mirrors a similar capability launched in EMEA in June 2020, marking another milestone in delivery of Zurich’s claims commitment.

BLM has been appointed to manage a panel of six Global Insurance Law Connect members and best friend firms across all lines of business. They are Buren Legal in China, Howse Williams in Hong Kong, Christopher & Lee Ong in Malaysia, Sparke Helmore Lawyers in Australia, Duncan Cotterill in New Zealand, Rajah & Tann in Singapore.

Client Relationship Lead for Zurich and Head of General Insurance at BLM, Jonathan Clay said: “We are delighted and excited to have been appointed with our Global Insurance Law Connect colleagues. The creation of a panel for large and complex claims across the Asia-Pacific region gives Zurich access to specialist expertise to the benefit of their customers across the world. As with the EMEA panel created last year, this new panel will not only introduce consistency from their external suppliers, it will also enable GILC’s  member and best friend firms to work together more closely to support Zurich’s global offering and their customers across more jurisdictions. I am proud that the strength and expertise of our global network, now in its fourth year, continues to be recognised by the wider industry.”

The panel complements existing local country panel arrangements, further consolidating long-standing relationships and allowing Zurich to execute a more consistent legal strategy. It will specifically benefit those claims that arise from Zurich International Programs, where more than one legal jurisdiction may be involved.

Zurich Group Chief Claims Officer Ian Thompson said: “We’re evolving our long-standing relationship with BLM by introducing the new legal panel within APAC. I’m delighted to build on the success of this trusted partnership and what we’ve achieved so far with legal panel arrangements in other parts of Zurich. Our international customers will benefit from an expert level of legal insight and more consistent experience, particularly where coverage spans multiple jurisdictions. For Zurich, launching this global network for APAC is another proof point in our delivery of our Zurich Claims’ commitment, enabling us to improve our trend analysis within Claims and facilitate proactive decision-making.”